Area congressmen tour flood sites to learn more about insurance rules

Attending were congressmen John Garamendi, Jerry McNerney; and Roy Wright, deputy associate administrator for mitigation of the Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration at FEMA, county supervisors, water agency representatives, and others.

The day included meetings on flood insurance reform discussing where it is working and where it is not.

Changes to flood mapping and state and federal laws limiting construction and access to insurance for agricultural buildings in flood plains are putting a financial burden on both homeowners and vital California farms.

The tour included a visit to an historic home and winery in the Delta facing steep increases in their flood insurance premiums. The tour also included a visit to the Lower Cache Creek Settling Basin near Woodland, which is set to receive $800,000 for a feasibility study on flood control improvements if President Obama's budget recommendation is enacted for that project.

"Today FEMA Deputy Associate Administrator Wright and his team heard the flood insurance concerns of Northern Californians loud and clear. While I've long cautioned against constructing urban housing projects in unprotected flood plains, we need people to understand that keeping agriculture in flood zones is usually a responsible and beneficial use of the land," Garamendi said. "Buildings used in agriculture need to be treated differently under state and federal law, and refusing to do so only hampers farmers' abilities to construct basic necessities like barns and sheds that helps their business become more productive."

FEMA and Garamendi's staff continued the day meeting with representatives in Knight's Landing, then to Montna Farms in Yuba City to further learn about the utility of certain agricultural buildings in flood zones as well as other sites in Yuba County.

At all meetings, the need to distinguish between urban and agricultural building infrastructure was of paramount concern.

Garamendi is a pear farmer and cattle rancher. He is a member of the Water Resource Development Act Conference Committee, the bicameral bipartisan group that is charged with reconciling differences between the House and Senate passed versions of the legislation. WRDA authorizes U.S. Army Corps of Engineers funding for flood protection, ports, waterways, drinking water, environmental restoration, dams, and levee projects.